Emergency key holder



NOV. 7, 1933. O NEWBAUER 1,934,319

EMERGENCY KEY HOLDER Filed July 24, 1935 INVENTOR I 7 Oscar E. Nfiwbauer A TTORNE V Patented Nov. 7, 193.?

PATENT OFFICE EMERGENCY KEY HOLDER Oscar E. Newbauer, Rochester, N. Y. Application July 24, 1933. Serial No. 681,813

7 Claims.

My invention relates to an emergency key holder, and has more particular reference to a device for providing an additional .key or set of keys for an automobile to be used in the event of the loss of the regular keys, although it is also applicable in other relations, as for instance in affording an emergency key for the door of a house or compartment, to be used when the regular key is mislaid or not available.

More particularly, the invention has for its object to afford a simple and practical construction in which an emergency key or set of keys is provided and retained against unauthorized removal, access being had by the operation of a permutation lock.

The invention is in the nature of an improvement over the construction disclosed in my earlier Patent No. 1,916,890, dated July 4, 1933, and the purpose of the present construction is to simplify the mechanism, to lower the cost of manufacture, and provide a construction that can be readily applied to and used on an automobile or in any other connection where it may be found desirable.

To these and other ends, the invention comprises the combination and arrangement of parts that will appear clearly from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, the novel features being pointed out in the claims following the specification.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation showing a preferred embodiment of the invention with the shackle locked in the barrel and holding the keys against removal;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the barrel lowered when the shackle is released to permit removal of the keys;

Fig. 3 is a similar front elevation with the barrel swung outwardly on the shackle, in which position the keys may be lifted from the barrel;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the parts when in the position shown in Fig. 3, the keys being removed, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 55 of Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawing in which like reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the several views, 1 designates a barrel having an opening 2 in which the key or keys 3 may be positioned, while 4, 4 designates the legs of a shackle that engage openings 5 in the barrel and are held therein by permutation locking means which may be of any conventional form.

The particular construction of the permutation locking means forms no part of the invention, and is therefore not illustrated in detail, but I have shown generally the type of permutation lock found in Patent No. 1,666,078, datedApril 17, 1928, including a rotatable cap 6 that can be turned in a predetermined relation to a dial 7 to operate the tumblers and release the legs 4 of the shackle, the latter being held by a locking member in the same'manner as in my earlier patent aforesaid.

In the structure shown, I have illustrated a shackle or" conventional type in which one leg is held against complete removal from the barrel, the shackle being rotatable with reference to the barrel when in its outermost position, as shown in Fig. 3, in which one leg is free.

The key may be retained by any suitable means carried by the locking member or shackle and positionable in the path of the key when held in the barrel. To accomplish this in the structure shown, I employ a housing 8 that is permanently attached in any practical way to the shackle and embraces the outer end of the key in the manner shown in Figs. 1 and 5, when the shackle is in its innermost position in the barrel. 0

Permanently attached to the housing 8 by spot 1 a welding, or in any other suitable way, is a strap 9 having ofiset lugs 10 at its ends by which the device is secured to a support, either some part of the body of an automobile, door frame, wall 35 or otherwise. It is to be understood that the lugs 10 may be formed integral with the housing 8 or may be otherwise attached to the shackle, the objective being to provide an instrumentality by which the shackle is permanently secured to 9 the support, and spaced therefrom so as to permit the barrel to be moved upwardly or downwardly.

In the usual operation of a lock of this type, the shackle is moved into and away from the barrel, but it will be understood that when the housing and shackle are permanently secured to a support, in actual operation the barrel is moved with relation to the shackle to permit access to the key.

After the permutation lock is operated to release the shackle, the barrel is dropped downwardly to its lowermost position, as shown in Fig. 2. In this position, the outer end of the key engages the bottom of the outer wall of the housing, preventing the barrel from being swung outwardly. The inner wall of the housing is cut away at 11, see Fig. 2, thus freeing the key and permitting the barrel to be swung inwardly to the position shown in Fig. 3. The keys are then free to be lifted from the barrel.

In order to lock the keys in place, they are inserted into the recess 2, as shown in Fig. 3, the barrel is swung to the position shown in Fig. 2, and is then elevated to the position shown in Fig. 1. Then upon turning the cap 6, the shackle is locked and the keys cannot be removed until the permutation locking member is again operated to free the shackle and permit the barrel to be swung inwardly, as already described.

While the invention has been set forth with reference to a particular embodiment, it is not confined to the details shown and described'a-nd the application is intended to cover any modifications or departures coming within the purport of the invention or the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. The combination with a barrel having a key-receiving recess, of a'lccking member movable into the barrel, permutation locking means for holding the locking member therein, said locking member being movable independently of the key and acting when held in the barrel to engage and thereby prevent removal of the key therefrom.

2. The combination with a barrel having a key-receiving recess, of a shackle movable into the barrel, permutation locking means for holding the shackle therein, said shackle acting when held within the barrel to engage and thereby prevent removal of the key and being free oi the key when released from the barrel to permit removal of the key.

3. The combination with a barrel having a key-receiving recess, of a shackle movable into the barrel, permutation locking means for holding the shackle therein, means for lockingly engaging the key when in 'ing the shackle therein,

being free of the key when the said shackle carrying the barrel to prevent its removal and being free from the key when released from the barrel to permit removal of the key.

4. The combination with a barrel having a key-receiving recess, of a shackle movable into the barrel, permutation locking means for holding the shackle therein, a housing carried by the shackle and engageable over the key when the shackle is moved into the barrel, said housing being free from the key to permit its removal when the shackle is moved away from the housing.

5. The combination with a barrel having a key-receiving recess, of a shackle movable into the barrel, permutation locking means for holdand a housing secured to the shackle and 'engageable over the outer end of the key to prevent its removal when the shackle is in its innermost position, the housing shackle is moved to its outermost position.

6. The combination with a barrel having a key-receiving recess, of a shackle movable into the barrel, permutation locking means for holding the shackle therein, said recess being located between the legs of'the shackle when the latter is in the barrel, a housing carried by the shackle and engageable over the outer end of the key, and means carried by for securing'it to a support.

'7. The combination with a barrel having a key-receiving recess, of a shackle movable into the barrel, permutation locking means for holding the shackle therein, means carried by the shackle and cooperating with the key when held in the barrel to prevent'removal of the key, and means carriedby the shackle for attaching it to a support.

OSCAR E. NEWBAUER.

the shackle and housing 

